Three Fugitives

This is not as bad or as unfunny a movie as some IMDb posters make out. The central situation of Lucas (Nick Nolte), a tough, professional heist-meister, being taken hostage by Perry (Martin Short), a bungling first-time bank robber, is pleasingly ridiculous. In particular, Perry's antics in the early bank robbery scenes are laugh-out-loud funny; as is Lucas's later violent entry into the bar where Perry is being held prisoner. The section towards the end, when Perry is disguised as a woman is also reasonably amusing. The scenes between Lucas and Perry's daughter (Sarah Rowland Doroff), are quite touching, when they could easily have been been sickly sentimental. (It helps that the little girl is supposed to have a psychological problem, so she hardly speaks.)

On the downside, there are undoubtedly soggy patches in the middle of the film, including the scene where James Earl Jones and Alan Ruck, as the two policemen leading the chase for Perry and Lucas, find it hilariously funny that Lucas was treated for a gunshot wound by a crazy vet who thought he was a dog. Another defect is the whiny music, which is repetitive and irritating.

All in all, this may not be a film to spend much money on, but is worth watching if it turns up on TV.

..."Three Fugitives" is an action comedy about an ex-con (Nick Nolte) who - on his first day out of prison - is taken hostage by a neurotic father (Martin Short). The two are taken - along with Short's daughter (Sarah Rowland Doroff) - on a long journey full of laughs and excitement.

Nick Nolte is probably not the greatest actor for comedies, but he still delivers well. Short is obviously hilarious, as he is most of the time, and Doroff is as good as she could be. James Earl Jones and Alan Ruck also make funny appearances.

The only really annoying part about "Three Fugitives" is the constant use of eighties guitar music in the background. That is probably the worst sounding noise in history.

Funny family movie (despite a few cuss-words), 7/10.

If you're that "god, I'm a serious movie rater and this better impress me" kind of movie watcher then go find another. But If you are in the mood to laugh and think odd pairs are funny then go for it. It helps to know the history of Martin Short's style of comedy. Nick Nolte's a pretty big guy and Sarah Doroff is really little. So Nolte just got outa prison and is supposed to be this big bad bank robber with a reputation. Martin Short is this nervous jobless dad that robs a bank just as Nick Nolte is there and takes Martin takes 'Nick' as a hostage.

Nick gets SHOT! Martin has a senile old friend that takes care of Rover(Nick). James Earl Jones does a belly-laugh. Sarah overcomes her trama to change gender. Martin Changes Gender! There's a Happy Ending Such a sweet movie- after its over put A Nightmare on Elm Street in for the contrast!

After spending five years in prison for 14 separate bank robberies "Lucas" (Nick Nolte) has finally been granted parole and is set free. Unfortunately, when he goes to a bank to deposit his prison check he finds himself on the receiving end of a bank robbery by what turns out to be an extremely bumbling novice by the name of "Ned Perry" (Martin Short). To make matters worse, when the police surround the bank Ned picks Lucas-of all people--to be his hostage. This selection causes the police to think that both Ned and Lucas are acting as a team and as a result the two of them are forced to work together to somehow extricate themselves from this situation. To further complicate matters, Ned's young daughter "Meg" (Sarah Rowland Doroff) has some serious issues related to trauma which has caused her to withdraw from everyone around her-until she meets Lucas. As a result, instead of two fugitives from the law there are now three-and each of them have their own priorities which don't necessarily relate to one another. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film turned out better than I thought it would due mainly to the humorous twists and turns throughout. That said, while it's certainly not the greatest comedy ever made, it's still a cute little film which should appeal to most viewers interested in something of this type. Slightly above average.

A reformed bank robber (Nick Nolte) is taken hostage by a desperate man (Martin Short) during a bank hold up, but is forced to go on the run with his captor when they are both mistakenly thought to be in cahoots.

A confession right up front: I have never cared for Martin Short. I couldn't say why, but his brand of humor just does not appeal to me. And yet, I really enjoyed this film and thought he was pretty sharp in it. Maybe Nick Nolte is the right "straight man" to keep the balance? It appears so.

There are some emotional moments, but nothing overwhelming that turns this fro ma comedy (with slight action) into a tear-jerker. What works great for the comedy-action balance is how quickly we get right into it. We learn about the characters as we go, rather than waiting twenty minutes for things to take off. This script decision was brilliant.